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Some Creative Problem Solving Required

As a real estate agent, I tend to see myself as a problem-solver. Whether someone is looking to sell their home or looking to buy one (and sometimes both), each has circumstances that are forcing them to move from their current housing situation into a new one. In effect, they're facing a problem of having to get rid of their current house within a certain time frame and price range and/or having to find a suitable new place in their price range and time frame, and I'm there to help them find a solution. Normally, this is a fairly straightforward process. But sometimes I find that I need to be a little creative.

Just recently, for instance, I was contacted by a young man that would be moving to Kitchener in the summer in order to begin a new job with a local software company. He was only in town for a very short time following his successful job interview and wanted to see some apartments or condo units for rent. After a few hours of looking, we found a brand new one-bedroom unit with a beautiful view of the city in a spanking new condominium building in downtown Kitchener that was mere steps away from his new workplace. He loved it! There was just one problem: it was one of the few units in this building that did not come with its own underground parking spot. And he needed a parking spot.

What to do?

First I tried to engage the listing agent to help me. I figured he'd be motivated to do so because the condo had been on the market for a couple of months already and was virtually the only one not rented out, probably because it didn't have a parking spot to go with it. So I outlined the situation to him and mentioned that getting a parking space would be the thing that would make or break this deal. I added that it would be a real shame to lose my client as a tenant because he was highly qualified and judging by the amount of time the place had been on the market, qualified tenants seemed to be in short supply! He said he'd talk to building management.

I was wrong. He wasn't motivated enough. The answer was no.

So you know what I did next? I went to that online website where everyone goes who's looking for something: Kijiji! You'd be surprised what you can find on there!

A search for "Underground parking downtown Kitchener" immediately brought up someone offering exactly that. And guess what? It turned out to be in the very same building my client was renting in! The owner of another unit in the building did not need his parking spot and was looking to lease it out. A few emails later, a deal was arranged and my client had his parking spot. Problem solved. And he was suitably impressed.

As a matter of fact, so was the listing agent. He actually asked me if I was willing to tell him how I did it.

2 Comments

Gary S. Ford
06/24/2016 at 12:41 PM
You should tell him, regardless of him being a jerk to you...be a man...oops...I meant, be a professional...like you are! Someday, he may return the favor...I doubt it but you never know.

Mike Steinborn
06/24/2016 at 2:43 PM
Haha, thanks for the support, Gary! Actually, I don't think he was being a jerk to me. Probably just too busy to spend much time on the issue and maybe thinking this was something I needed to really look after since it was MY client. Whatever the reason, I'm glad he gave me the opportunity to be creative and go above and beyond my client's expectations!

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